FESTIVAL "LJUBICA" - THE MOST PROMISING FESTIVAL IN SRPSKA

GRADIŠKA, MARCH 20 /SRNA/ - The "Ljubica" Theater Festival in Gradiška, although it has only had two editions and is the youngest festival of its kind in the region, already carries the title of the most promising theater festival in Republika Srpska, stated Tanja Đaković, the assistant minister of education and culture of the Republika Srpska.

Đaković attended a press conference in Gradiška where the Third Theater Festival "Ljubica" was announced, and she assessed that this festival was rated as the top-ranked in last year's competition for co-financing programs and projects at the Ministry.

She emphasized that this year she expects a great interest from the audience, noting that last year around 5,000 lovers of theatrical art attended the performances and other events.

The third theater festival "Ljubica," which will take place at the Cultural Center in Gradiška from May 17 to 23, will present seven performances to the audience, five of which are part of the competitive section of the festival. The festival will be opened with the co-production play "Tera inkognita" /Terra incognita/ by the National Theatre of East Sarajevo and the City Theatre of Gradiška, and at the closing festival evening, the audience will be able to enjoy the theatrical piece "Frankie and Johnny" performed by Sloboda Mićalović and Igor Đorđević.

The performances in the competitive section begin on the second festival evening, and this year, the selector of the "Ljubica" Festival, Slađana Zrnić, has chosen the following plays: "The Glass Menagerie" from the National Theater of East Sarajevo, 'Švabica"/German Girl/ from the National Theater of the Republic of Srpska, "Bračno savjetovanje"/Marriage Counseling/ from the City Theater "Jazavac"/Badger/ in Banja Luka, the comedy "Ometena u razvoju"/Developmentally Challenged/ from the City Theater "Semberija" in Bijeljina, and "Let iznad kukvičiijeg gnjijezda"/Flight over the cuckoo's nest/ from the Prijedor Theater.

The director of the City Theater of Gradiška, Zlatan Vidović, stated that the City Theater, the Cultural Center, and the City of Gradiška, as organizers, are very proud of the successes of the "Ljubica" Festival so far. They have made an effort to raise the bar even higher and expect an even larger audience.

The manager of the City of Gradiška, Bojan Vujinović, emphasized that the accompanying content will be much richer compared to the previous two years, and that the opening of "Ljubica" will be complemented by an exhibition dedicated to the first educated costume designer in this region, Milica Babić Andrić.

Individual tickets in pre-sale for competitive performances cost 10 KM, for the gala performance "Frankie and Johnny" 20 KM, and a package of tickets costs 45 KM.

The "Ljubica" festival, in addition to the City of Gradiška, has also been supported this year by the office of the President of Republika Srpska and the Ministry of Education and Culture. The festival was supported by Nova Bank and the Tourist Organization of the city of Gradiška, while the media sponsors were Radio-Television of the Republic of Srpska and Radio-Television Gradiška.